Protecting Marine Environments (NAPSA)—DEARDR. MOORE: I’ve heard that some marine protected areas don’t prohibit fishing. Isn’t the point to restore depleted fish stocks? “No-take areas”, '. where all fishing ' is prohibited, are usually designated as marineor ecological reserves. But “marine protected area” (MPA) is a broad term that covDr. Moore ers a variety of conservation goals. Many do help restore fish stocks by providing safe spawning and mating areas close to commercial fisheries. Oth- ers are created to protect, among other things, endangered species, habitats or submerged vessels (considered part of our marine heritage). The majority of MPAs are multiple use areas that ban or restrict commercial fishing while permitting sport fishing and other recreationaluses. MPAshave been referred to as the environmental issue of this decade. Over the past 10 years, countries such as ours focused on the land, making sure ourforests are managed sustainably and setting aside networks of parks and protected areas. Many people considered oceans too large to suffer any real harm—but that has proven false. As a result, we must now work quickly to ensure that our fisheries are sustainable and expand our network of protected marine ecosystems. It’s worth noting that, despite the recent flurry of attention, MPAsare nothing new. As long ago as 1947, more than 100 miles of coastline were set aside as part of Everglades National Park—and there are many other examples. What is new is the increasing sense of urgency. It’s encouraging that countries around the world now recognize the value of MPAs as a marine conservation tool. Unfortunately, despite good intentions, less than one percent of the world’s marine ecosystems are currently protected and many of those receive little or no enforcement. We can and must do better. Over-fishing has had devastating impacts on the populations of many species of fish and shellfish and MPAscan help protect important spawning and rearing areas— especially on reefs. On land, North America has set aside a greater area of parks and protected areas than any other region in the world. As sensible environmentalists, we should be encouraging our govern- ments to give marine environ- ments the samelevelof protection. Dr. Patrick Moore has been a leader of the environmental movement for more than 30 years. A cofounder of Greenpeace, he holds a PhD in ecology and a BScin forest biology. Questions can be sent to Patrick @SensibleEnvironmental ist.com.
